Pages

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Bonny Reservoir Fish Salvage

On September 21, 2011, the Colorado State Engineer started releasing water from Bonny Reservoir. The State claims that the lake must be drained to satisfy legal obligations for supplying water to Kansas and Nebraska. The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) believes that the draining will most likely result in the complete loss of the reservoir.

On September 23, the DOW released a press release stating that they would be trapping and relocating as many of the sport fish as possible. The will also continue to allow fisherman access to the lake to help remove fish from the draining lake. As long as it is still safe to access the banks of the lake, the DOW will try to allow access to the lake.

All manners of take will be permitted, including trotlines, jugs and seines. The DOW has also removed all limits on species and numbers of fish, but will still require that everyone fishing at the lake has a valid Colorado fishing license. They will also require everyone to fill out an angler survey card, available at the reservoir.

As the lake is drained, Bonny will transition from a State Park, to a State Wildlife Area.